A sea monster, a spirit of the ocean, and earthly incarnation of a god, a creature too absurd to be true, an exploitable commodity—this beautifully illustrated and decorated anthology seeks the idea of the whale in the human imagination through a collection of evocative writings and images from ancient times to the present day. Ranging across the cultures of the world, it explores the complexity of humankind's relationship with the whale, an awe-inspiring creature that fills our legends, art, and literature with its mystical—sometimes fearsome, often tragic—presence.